July 30, 2006

Usual Suspects

Three of the shooting survivors were in serious condition, according to Harborview Medical Center; the other two victims were in satisfactory condition, including a woman who is five months pregnant. Police said she was shot in the arm while covering her abdomen. ...

According to [Police Chief Gil] Kerlikowske, Haq was upset over three world events: U.S. involvement in Iraq; the U.S. backing of Israel; and what Haq said was the mistreatment of the Pakistani people.

Haq found the Jewish center by researching "something Jewish" on the Internet, Kerlikowske said.

We should not be bound by our past perceptions and definitions. The perpetrator of an act that has all the hallmarks of terrorism ó deliberately targeting civilians, intent to send a message, in support of a broader cause or ideology ó is a terrorist, whether or not he, or she, is formally affiliated with a terrorist organization.

All this has important implications for how we fight terrorism. We need to pay close attention to how radical Islamic ideas, such as jihad against infidels, are promoted in our country. We should keep a watch on Islamic hate groups, just as we keep a watch on Christian white-supremacist hate groups. And we should be on the lookout for hate-driven, sympathizer terrorism, a phenomenon that is real, that is happening, and which must be recognized if we are to have any chance to defeat it.